Health Care Quality Digest

Head physician's 'inappropriate' alterations suspend Memorial Hermann transplant programs

Fierce Healthcare

APRIL 15, 2024

Houston’s Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center is working to resume liver and kidney transplant programs that were paused amid evidence that a head physician had made “inappropriate” alterati | Houston’s Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center's liver and kidney transplant programs have been suspended for several days.

MedPAC’s physician pay recommendations insufficient, provider groups say

Health Care Dive

MARCH 19, 2024

The Medicare Advisory Payment Commission also suggests tying the rate of physician payment increases to the Medicare Economic Index — a move some industry groups support.

Medicare

Physician pay rose a modest 3% in 2023. Here are the specialties that saw the biggest gains

Fierce Healthcare

APRIL 12, 2024

Physicians made steady pay gains last year, as total compensation grew by a modest 3%, increasing from an average of $352,000 to $363,000. |

Medicare

MedPAC report slammed by insurers and docs over Medicare Advantage and physician reimbursement

Fierce Healthcare

MARCH 15, 2024

Providers objected to its proposal to give physician reimbursement relief, while plans disagreed with its attitude toward Medicare Advantage. Health plans and providers alike are disgruntled with a new report (PDF) to Congress released | It seems everyone was left unsatisfied by MedPAC's newest report to Congress.

Medicare

Burnout, Tele-Health, and Accessibility: How to Manage the Expectation of a 24-Hour Workday

Speaker: Keith Carlson — BSN, RN, NC-BC, Host of The Nurse Keith Podcast

Telehealth increases patients' abilities to access care as well as the potential for the well-being of the physician or RN, but only if implemented with reasonable provider expectations. In this webinar with Nurse Keith Carlson, we will address: Burnout prevention through SWOT analysis and compassionate self-assessment.

Nursing

Senators working on legislation to reform how Medicare pays physicians

Fierce Healthcare

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

A bipartisan group of senators announced Friday that they are working on new legislation for “long-term reforms” to physician payments under Medicare and other program changes. | The lawmakers plan to investigate and pass "long-term reforms" that will "ensure financial stability for providers," among other goals.

Medicare

Optum to buy struggling Steward Health Care's physician group under proposed deal

Fierce Healthcare

MARCH 27, 2024

Steward Health Care is planning to sell off its physician group to UnitedHealth Group’s Optum in order to right its struggling finances, according to documents filed with Massachusetts state regula | The proposed deal is under review from Massachusetts' healthcare regulator, but has already drawn antitrust concerns from federal lawmakers who pointed (..)

Regulations

Regulations Healthcare

Kaiser Permanente uses AI to redirect 'simple' patient messages from physician inboxes

Fierce Healthcare

APRIL 9, 2024

Artificial intelligence categorization can help stem the flood of patient messages that would otherwise demand physicians’ expensive time, Kaiser Permanente researchers report.

Increases in value-based payment adoption decreased family physician burnout, AAFP study finds

Fierce Healthcare

NOVEMBER 5, 2023

Family physicians utilizing value-based payment (VBP) models reported burnout relief in a new study from EHR com | The study found that higher capitation rates combined with greater overall percentage of revenue from capitation resulted in the biggest reduction in physician burnout.

Physician-owned hospitals' negotiated, cash prices lower than nearby facilities, study finds

Fierce Healthcare

JUNE 22, 2023

Physician-owned general acute care hospitals charge less than other non-physician-owned facilities in their region for several common shoppable care services, according to a new analysis published | A new analysis of competing hospitals' published prices adds fuel to the debate over whether Congress should lift the Affordable Care Act's ban (..)

Hospitals

Physician burnout rate doubled between 2019 and 2021, study finds

Health Care Dive

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Women physicians, less tenured clinicians and those working in primary care were more likely to report higher levels of burnout, according to research published in JAMA Network Open.

Primary Care

Many employed docs say non-physician practice ownership cuts quality, survey finds

Fierce Healthcare

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Nearly 60% of doctors who practice as employees of hospitals and other corporate entities say that non-physician practice ownership results in lower quality patient care, per a new survey. | Most docs surveyed cited decreased time with patients and greater focus on financial success as elements negatively affecting quality at non-physician-owned medical (..)

Doctors

Doctors Hospitals

Physician turnover more complex than just burnout, study finds

Health Care Dive

OCTOBER 20, 2023

In a qualitative study examining physician turnover, participants said their departures were mostly driven by a desire for increased flexibility.

Allina Health clinicians to form largest group of unionized physicians in US private sector

Fierce Healthcare

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Hundreds of Allina Health physicians have voted in favor of unionizing, creating what their representation believes to be the largest collection of unionized private-sector physicians in the countr | Primary and urgent care clinicians' 325-200 vote was announced late last week and follows another in-favor unionization push by Allina Health inpatient (..)

Urgent Care

Senator probes private equity, physician staffing firms for emergency care cost cutting

Fierce Healthcare

APRIL 2, 2024

Yet another congressional inquiry is seeking information on private equity’s role in care delivery, this time on whether their investments in emergency physician staffing firms are leaving hospital | Staffing reductions and other cost reduction moves in the emergency department can have "homeland security implications," Sen.

Hospitals

Physicians are experiencing delayed COVID-19 burnout

Health Care Dive

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Physician burnout has risen during the most recent phase of the pandemic, resulting in exacerbated retention challenges among healthcare workers, an MGMA survey and other recent reports have found.

Healthcare

Sutter Health taps Abridge to roll out generative AI tech for physicians and patients

Fierce Healthcare

MARCH 26, 2024

Abridge, a startup that develops generative AI tools for medical documentation, has notched another major health system partnership to put its technology in front of more physicians.

Doctors

Doctors Nursing

Hospital, ED staffer American Physician Partners files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Fierce Healthcare

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

American Physician Partners, a Brentwood, Tennessee-based hospital staffing firm, announced Tuesday that it and its affiliates have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections “to complete the orde | The company said it has wound down over 150 contracts in July and attributed its financial difficulties to the pandemic and the No Surprises Act.

Hospitals

Sutter Health names first chief physician executive

Health Care Dive

JUNE 6, 2023

Todd Smith will be responsible for delivering systemized service line standards, deepening relationships between medical groups and community physicians, and reducing clinical variation

Women making up more of physician workforce

Health Care Dive

JANUARY 18, 2023

Across all genders, primary care specialties like internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics had the largest number of active physicians and residents in 2021, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Primary Care

DocsGPT in beta targets physician burnout

Healthcare It News

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

"We know how busy physicians are and recognize that administrative burden is a leading contributor to burnout," Dr. Nate Gross, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Doximity, told Healthcare IT News by email. To get this right, we must have the right partners, and that includes physicians."

Doctors

Doctors Integration Prevention Accountability

Physician compensation is rising but not keeping pace with inflation, MGMA survey finds

Fierce Healthcare

JUNE 6, 2023

Despite physician and advanced practice provider productivity continuing its post-pandemic recovery, compensation gains are being outstripped by the most severe inflationary growth in decades, acco | Despite physician and advanced practice provider productivity continuing its post-pandemic recovery, compensation gains are being outstripped by the most (..)

SCOTUS affirmative action ruling sets back physician diversity efforts, healthcare groups say

Health Care Dive

JUNE 29, 2023

Industry groups and the HHS argued the ruling against race-conscious admissions policies could roll back gains in the number of minority physicians and ultimately hurt health outcomes.

Healthcare

Lawmakers mull lifting ban on physician-owned hospitals as doc lobbying groups claim major cost savings

Fierce Healthcare

OCTOBER 19, 2023

A new analysis backed by doctor lobbying groups suggest that physician-owned hospitals could have fueled about $1.1

Hospitals

Hospitals Doctors Medicare

Physician adoption of digital health tools is accelerating, AMA research shows

Healthcare It News

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

The American Medical Association's digital health research released today shows increased rates of digital health adoption among physicians over the last six years and provides insights into their expectations. The average number of digital health tools in use by a physician grew from 2.2 in 2016 to 3.8 Email: afox@himss.org.

Remote Care

Remote Care Integration Doctors Health Technology

Why don’t physicians accept Medicaid patients?

Healthcare ECONOMIST

MARCH 28, 2024

Another (often overlooked) factor, however, is physician’s risk of payment denials and the administrative hassle they face trying to get reimbursed by Medicaid. physicians and many different insurers to document the complexity of health care billing, and estimate its economic costs for doctors and consequences for patients.

Medicaid

Medicaid Doctors Medicare

Up-and-coming physicians even more burned out than their senior colleagues, survey finds

Fierce Healthcare

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

Recent survey data from The Physicians Foundation suggest residents and medical students are no strangers to the widespread burnout weighing down America’s physician workforce.

Physicians spend more time after hours on EHR tasks post-COVID, report finds

Health Care Dive

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

The switch to virtual care has increased documentation burden for physicians, according to a new report published in JAMA.

Share of physicians working in private practice continues to dip

Health Care Dive

JULY 13, 2023

Over the past decade, the share of physicians working in private practice has declined as hospital systems, private equity firms and payers have acquired practices, according to a report from the American Medical Association.

Private Practices

Private Practices Hospitals

Medpac recommends physician pay bump, but not enough for provider groups

Health Care Dive

MARCH 16, 2023

Updating base physician payment rates by 1.45% in 2024 as proposed by the group that advises Congress on Medicare policy is “grossly insufficient,” the Medical Group Management Association said in a statement.

Medicare

ACOs led by independent physicians save Medicare ‘substantially’ more money, CBO says

Health Care Dive

APRIL 17, 2024

Independent practices have clearer financial incentives to lower medical spending than hospitals participating in accountable care organizations, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Accountable Care

Accountable Care Medicare Accountability Hospitals

Applications open for Physicians Foundation grant, fellowship focused on SDOH innovation

Fierce Healthcare

AUGUST 16, 2023

The Physicians Foundation has opened applications for a grant award and fellowship program aimed at helping drive awareness and best practices around the social determinants of health (SDOH). | The grant award and fellowship program are aimed at helping drive awareness and best practices around the social determinants of health.

Doctors

AI can unlock supply to meet demand, says Johns Hopkins physician IT leader

Healthcare It News

APRIL 4, 2024

A patient sees their primary care physician, who then issues a referral. That physician then issues a subspecialty referral, which may finally reveal the right answer. He's also a primary care physician focused on internal medicine and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Community Physicians.

Primary Care

Primary Care Nursing Healthcare Hospitals

Corporate employment of physicians surged during pandemic

Health Care Dive

APRIL 20, 2022

A study by Avalere found that hospitals or other corporate entities are buying up independent physician groups at a rapid clip, raising concerns about increasing pressures on doctors.

Doctors

Doctors Hospitals

Experts push to remove barriers for physician-owned hospitals

Fierce Healthcare

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

Experts push to remove barriers for physician-owned hospitals fdiamond Tue, 02/28/2023 - 14:42

Hospitals

Physician gender pay gap narrowing, but women still earn 19% less than men

Health Care Dive

APRIL 14, 2023

Across the board, physician salaries rose by about 4% last year compared to 2021, according to Medscape. The rise in wages was partly attributed to a shortage of doctors and clinician burnout.

Doctors

HCA Healthcare's newly consolidated physician staffing venture is bleeding $50M per quarter, execs tell investors

Fierce Healthcare

OCTOBER 24, 2023

. | The for-profit system celebrated "continued solid demand for our services" during its Q3 2023 earnings call, but had to defend its decisions surrounding Valesco Physician Services to analysts and investors.

Healthcare

Violence against emergency room physicians is on the rise, survey finds

Health Care Dive

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Two-thirds of physicians working in emergency departments reported being assaulted in the past year alone, according to a survey.

CommonSpirit launches value-based management platform for physicians

Health Care Dive

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

The nonprofit giant is the latest healthcare organization trying to position itself as an attractive partner for independent physicians who want to transition to value-based payment arrangements.

Healthcare

Hospital outpatient departments charging 'roughly double' for biologics compared to physician offices: report

Fierce Healthcare

JULY 5, 2023

Hospital outpatient departments are marking up the prices for biologic medicines more than physician offices, particularly for “innovator biologics” that have clinically equivalent and lower cost a | Consistently higher markups among hospital outpatient departments hamstring potential savings payers may hope to see down the line as more biosimilars (..)

Hospitals

Physician compensation rises alongside burnout, retirements in 2021

Health Care Dive

DECEMBER 17, 2021

Over 73% of physicians reported feeling overworked amid the pandemic and 50% said they are considering an employment change because of it, Doximity's annual report found.

Physicians used social media to spread COVID misinformation to thousands, report finds

Health Care Dive

AUGUST 16, 2023

Some physicians played a role in spreading COVID-19 misinformation by posting erroneous information on social media, according to a JAMA study.

AHA: Administrative burdens and payer rates—not hospitals—are to blame for fewer independent physician practices

Fierce Healthcare

JUNE 8, 2023

Hospital acquisitions of physician practices are primarily being fueled by burdensome administrative requirements, rising expenses and insufficient commercial and public reimbursement rates, the in | The American Hospital Association released a report outlining the workload and expenses they say are driving physicians under their wing.

Hospitals

From AI oversight to noncompete contracts, these issues were top of mind for physician leaders at AMA's policy meeting

Fierce Healthcare

JUNE 14, 2023

The country’s largest physician organization is taking a strong stance against noncompete contracts for physicians and is redoubling efforts to urge Congress to boost Medicare payments. |

Medicare

Head physician's 'inappropriate' alterations suspend Memorial Hermann transplant programs

MedPAC’s physician pay recommendations insufficient, provider groups say

Trending Sources

Physician pay rose a modest 3% in 2023. Here are the specialties that saw the biggest gains

MedPAC report slammed by insurers and docs over Medicare Advantage and physician reimbursement

Burnout, Tele-Health, and Accessibility: How to Manage the Expectation of a 24-Hour Workday

Senators working on legislation to reform how Medicare pays physicians

Optum to buy struggling Steward Health Care's physician group under proposed deal

Kaiser Permanente uses AI to redirect 'simple' patient messages from physician inboxes

Increases in value-based payment adoption decreased family physician burnout, AAFP study finds

Physician-owned hospitals' negotiated, cash prices lower than nearby facilities, study finds

Physician burnout rate doubled between 2019 and 2021, study finds

Many employed docs say non-physician practice ownership cuts quality, survey finds

Physician turnover more complex than just burnout, study finds

Allina Health clinicians to form largest group of unionized physicians in US private sector

Senator probes private equity, physician staffing firms for emergency care cost cutting

Physicians are experiencing delayed COVID-19 burnout

Sutter Health taps Abridge to roll out generative AI tech for physicians and patients

Hospital, ED staffer American Physician Partners files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Sutter Health names first chief physician executive

Women making up more of physician workforce

DocsGPT in beta targets physician burnout

Physician compensation is rising but not keeping pace with inflation, MGMA survey finds

SCOTUS affirmative action ruling sets back physician diversity efforts, healthcare groups say

Lawmakers mull lifting ban on physician-owned hospitals as doc lobbying groups claim major cost savings

Physician adoption of digital health tools is accelerating, AMA research shows

Why don’t physicians accept Medicaid patients?

Up-and-coming physicians even more burned out than their senior colleagues, survey finds

Physicians spend more time after hours on EHR tasks post-COVID, report finds

Share of physicians working in private practice continues to dip

Medpac recommends physician pay bump, but not enough for provider groups

ACOs led by independent physicians save Medicare ‘substantially’ more money, CBO says

Applications open for Physicians Foundation grant, fellowship focused on SDOH innovation

AI can unlock supply to meet demand, says Johns Hopkins physician IT leader

Corporate employment of physicians surged during pandemic

Experts push to remove barriers for physician-owned hospitals

Physician gender pay gap narrowing, but women still earn 19% less than men

HCA Healthcare's newly consolidated physician staffing venture is bleeding $50M per quarter, execs tell investors

Violence against emergency room physicians is on the rise, survey finds

CommonSpirit launches value-based management platform for physicians

Hospital outpatient departments charging 'roughly double' for biologics compared to physician offices: report

Physician compensation rises alongside burnout, retirements in 2021

Physicians used social media to spread COVID misinformation to thousands, report finds

AHA: Administrative burdens and payer rates—not hospitals—are to blame for fewer independent physician practices

From AI oversight to noncompete contracts, these issues were top of mind for physician leaders at AMA's policy meeting

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